Right before Christmas of 2007, Daniel Vézina took over the restaurant in Montreal’s Hôtel Le Germain. Though the resto had gone through several incarnations, it was only when this superstar chef arrived that the establishment hit the foodie radar. It didn’t hurt that the name chosen for the Le Germain space was the same as his excellent and wildly popular Quebec City restaurant, Laurie Raphaël.

As Vézina could easily be described as one of the fathers of Quebec’s nouvelle cuisine movement (along with his BFF, Normand Laprise of Toqué!), the Montreal satellite operation filled up fast.

His menu was laden with the province’s best ingredients, plate presentations were complex, and the 40-odd seats were occupied by the sort of seasoned gourmets ready to fork over for the pricey tasting menu – with the wine pairings.

Most everyone I spoke to about Vézina-à-la-Montréal raved. I wasn’t as impressed. This restaurant didn’t share the sweep or brassiness of the original Laurie Raphaël. The food was finicky, the space was awkward, and the “addition” was exorbitant. So spotty was the service that the better descriptor was “stainy.”

Once I polished off the last overwrought dessert capped with a mountain of maple cotton candy floss, I was ready to hightail it out of there. This potential four-star restaurant rated only two in my books.

Then, last summer, while watching an episode of the Radio-Canada reality cooking show Les Chefs!, Laurie Raphaël sprang to mind. Vézina is the show’s host and even though the program is a scaled-down version of the American Food Network sensation Top Chef, the added exposure places him at the forefront of the province’s cooking scene.

Right now he’s shooting the second season of Les Chefs! back in Quebec City and is only in Montreal every two weeks, so those yearning for a glimpse of Mr. Vézina probably exit disappointed.

That might explain why the buzz around Laurie Raphaël Montreal is verging on non-existent. But when Vézina isn’t in house, I’m told his 23-year-old son, Raphaël, rules the kitchen. That news alone was reason for a return visit.

I entered the restaurant’s mezzanine dining room on a recent rainy Tuesday, and within minutes was happily ensconced at a comfortable table, being served by a sharp waiter, and perusing a menu that looked oh so promising. The room was quiet and only half full. So far, so good.

The heart of the menu features dishes in four categories: fish, hot and cold, and meat, hot and cold. These are described as small plates, with portion sizes wavering between appetizer and main course. There’s also a list of side dishes including vegetables, cheeses, and, not to be missed, desserts.

The style of the food is modern, and when I say modern I mean molecular-cuisine-influenced with foams, powders, crumbles and jellies used to highlight dishes that are often deconstructed, reconstructed, rethought or reinvented.

There’s not a lot of this kind of food in Montreal these days. It’s complicated and tough to nail. In skilled hands, though, it can be thrilling. I hoped this kitchen would be able to pull it off.

To begin, we opted for a foie gras duo consisting of a flash-frozen foie gras ice cream on one plate, and a seared nugget of foie gras on the other. Incredibly light in texture and flavour, the foie gras ice cream was interesting, yet it was the crisp nugget of seared foie on the other plate that left a lasting impression.

A rethink of the classic salade Niçoise included a sashimi of Albacore tuna placed among a scattering of haricots verts, olives, tomatoes, cubes of blue potatoes, artichoke hearts, flower petals and poached quail’s eggs.

Granted, it was all a bit precious (the petals were certainly “de trop”), yet the dish looked pretty, and every element was perfectly cooked.

I’ll save my high praise, though, for the next three dishes: the corn chowder, a mushroom tart and a lamb T-bone. Presented initially as a bowl with a square of pork belly layered with a seared scallop in the centre, the chowder part of the equation came when a waiter arrived to pour the potage over top. Thick and full-flavoured, the soup was scrumptious. The accompanying proteins provided the right rich support, and a quenelle of crème fraîche further boosted the all-around velvetiness of it all. Yum!

The tart was an elaborate affair, complete with a rectangular puff pastry base topped with a marrow flan, and a mixture of a half-dozen sautéed wild and cultivated mushrooms. I liked this dish because it provided the right balance between complicated and simple, with contrasting smooth and chunky textures. It also tasted as great as it looked.

The lamb also tasted great. Sourced from the Eastern Townships, the meat had real flavour (Quebec lamb is so often dull) and was tender and cooked deep-crimson rare. Served with braised radishes, yellow tomatoes, and a bed of “faux” couscous made from cauliflower, the lamb was enhanced with a smoky sauce. What’s not to like?

Sadly, our final two savoury dishes fell a bit flat.

Covered with more seared foie gras and an unappetizing kelly-green spinach foam, a duck confit lasagna consisted of little more than pieces of duck meat (and a hunk of bone) and a few pasta sheets drowned in a forgettable sauce. It was the dud of the dinner and a dish that could use a rethink.

And though my dining companions raved about the poutine topped with Perron cheddar and hunks of braised pork, to me it was soggy and dull. I’ve had better poutine at snack bars in the Laurentians.

Desserts were probably the strongest course of what was a pretty successful dinner thus far. First up was a lemon and Earl Grey tea plate complete with foams, creams, cakes, crumble, meringue disks and pudding. Not only was this dessert fun to look at, the tastes complemented each other and the mix of textures was good fun.

I also relished every morsel of the deconstructed carrot cake. Another looker, this dish wowed with its brilliant mix of preserved carrots, cinnamon ice cream, cocoa crumble, currant coulis and candied nuts. And finally, the Death by Chocolate plate may have sounded like the worst cliché, but the dessert that arrived – including molten chocolate cake, cocoa sorbet, truffles, ganaches, chocolate crumble and cream – was a knockout, primarily because it wasn’t too sweet. As for the avocado cream dotted on the side of the plate, the only thing I didn’t like was its unflattering hue of army-surplus green.

Despite suffering from a slight case of over-reaching-itis, Laurie Raphaël has calmed down considerably and seems to have hit a nice groove between impeccable service and complex cuisine. I was also greatly impressed by the wine recommendations supplied by our waiter/sommelier Marc-Alexandre Goupil, who pointed us to some by-the-glass winners and a delectable Saumur-Champigny.

So few are my complaints this time about Laurie Raphaël that I would go so far as to say it’s a great bet for foodies yearning for that sophisticated contemporary cuisine experience all too rare in our city.

Steak and Caesar-salad types need not apply, but if you like cheffy food conceived by a famous chef who hosts Les Chefs! and executed by his chef son and his gang of fellow chefs behind the stoves, this is the cheffy-chef-driven restaurant for you.